[1] The Lakers' LeBron James was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth time in his career.

[2] Lakers president Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to guide her team to an NBA title.

[5][6] James had previously played with Miami under Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, winning back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 in four consecutive Finals appearances from 2011 to 2014, while Heat president Pat Riley was head coach of the "Showtime"-era Lakers from 1981 to 1990, leading them to four NBA titles in seven Finals appearances.

[12] The 2020 Finals was the latest to begin (beating the 1999 edition which began on June 16) and the first one played in September and October, and as well held in the fall.

[13] On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved 29–1 (the Portland Trail Blazers were the lone dissenter) resuming the 2019–20 season at Walt Disney World.

[10] During the off-season, the Heat agreed to a four-way trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler from the 76ers.

[14] Miami began the season with two undrafted players in their starting lineup, Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson.

[24] During the offseason, general manager Rob Pelinka hired Frank Vogel as the Lakers' new head coach,[25] and he acquired six-time All-Star power forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-way trade that also included the Washington Wizards.

[27] Later in the month, legendary former Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

[30] After play resumed in the bubble, the Lakers clinched both their first Pacific Division title since 2012 and the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since the 2009–10 season.

[38] Miami's Jimmy Butler twisted his left ankle before the end of the first half, but he remained in the game and finished with 23 points.

[41] The team shot 51% for the game and made 22 of their first 25 two-point field goals, including a stretch of 16 straight towards the end of the first period through late in the third.

[42] Butler finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for a triple-double to lead Miami to a 115–104 win as Heat starters Adebayo and Dragić remained sidelined.

Miami began the second half with a 10–0 run to lead by 14, but Los Angeles responded with eight straight points.

[45] Butler became the third player in Finals history to record a 40+ point triple-double, joining James (then with the Cleveland Cavaliers) in 2015 and Jerry West with the Lakers in 1969.

[47] Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Miami to a 111–108 win and stave off elimination, bringing the series to 3–2.

[49] With the Lakers down by one and 18.8 seconds remaining in the game, James drove into the paint, where he was surrounded by Butler and Robinson with a third defender also approaching.

[50][51] With 48 seconds left in the first quarter, Davis was kicked by Miami's Andre Iguodala in his right heel, which aggravated a contusion he received in the conference finals.

After lying on the floor for minutes, Davis exited the game and began the second quarter on the bench, which helped the Heat amass a 11-point lead.

[53] Robinson ended with 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, which broke Gary Neal's record set in 2013 for most 3's by an undrafted player in the Finals.

[54] Butler was the sixth player with multiple triple-doubles in the same Finals series along with James, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Draymond Green.

[52] He also became the first with 35 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in a Finals game, and he was just the second NBA player to reach those marks in the playoffs, joining Gary Payton in 2000.

[52] James had 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Lakers to a 106–93 win for their 17th league championship in franchise history, their first since 2010 and their first without Phil Jackson at the helm since his permanent departure in 2011.

[56] Winning the fourth championship of his career,[56] he became the first and only player in NBA history to have been named Finals MVP with three different franchises.

[57] Lakers head coach Frank Vogel decided to start with a smaller, quicker lineup, inserting guard Alex Caruso for Howard and moving Davis to center.

[58] Butler became only the second player in a Finals series to lead his team outright in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, joining James in 2016 with the Cavaliers.

[61][62] In the United States, the Finals were televised by ABC in English (including local stations KABC-TV in Los Angeles and WPLG in Miami) and ESPN Deportes in Spanish.

[63] Like before, Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy served as commentators on ABC, with Rachel Nichols on the sideline.

[68] The drop followed the shift in other sporting events rescheduled from their traditional times of year, such as the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kentucky Derby, the U.S. Open and the Indianapolis 500.

[68] Game 3, which aired opposite NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage, had its viewership continue to decrease to a new record low of approximately 5.94 million.